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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23642050">Knocking Down Your Walls</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadehqknb/pseuds/jadehqknb'>jadehqknb</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Forbidden Love, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Mutual Pining, War, featuring Aone Takanobu, featuring Futakuchi Kenji, featuring Koganegawa Kanji, featuring Nametsu Mai, featuring Sasaya Takehito, questionable science</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:55:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,058</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23642050</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadehqknb/pseuds/jadehqknb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the war of the worlds, but no one can say for sure who's against who. It may be the future, but it feels more and more like the "wild west" as old alliances are broken and back spaceport deals are forged. Asahi has a mission to break down a portion of the Iron Wall and it brings him in contact with a man he hasn't seen since they were teenagers, fresh faces turned to the heavens wondering what lay within its stars. </p><p>Too bad it held more pain and regrets than stars.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Azumane Asahi/Moniwa Kaname</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Knocking Down Your Walls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/RarePairGremlin/gifts">RarePairGremlin</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompts Mutual Pining/War from this <a href="https://meridelclarke.tumblr.com/post/174003758104/fanfiction-trope-mash-up">List</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Asahi looked at the massive wall before him, his heart rattling his ribcage. Or maybe that was the mortar shells going off around him. If he didn’t bust through, all of their efforts would be for nothing. Nerves started to tingle up his spin, making his limbs quiver but he tensed his muscles. He couldn’t be weak, not ever really, but especially not now. </p><p>Another explosion, this one close enough to rain dirt on his head reminded him it was time to hurry. He flicked on the enhancers of his gauntlet gloves, the hum of power reinforcing his will as much as it did the apparatuses on his hands.</p><p>This was it. </p><p>He stepped to the iron wall, got into stance and threw his first punch. The impact of metal against metal rang out in the valley. He grit his teeth against the jarring impacts, throwing another and another and another, watching a crack—so small at first—begin to race up the expanse of the massive wall. </p><p>Another hit brought the protest of metal scraping against itself as one of the panels began to shift. Sweat mixed with the dirt on his brow, stinging his eyes but he dare not stop. He was nearly there, just a few more hits would do it!</p><p>“You there! Stop!”</p><p>His heart froze as his head whipped around to take in the sight of Futakuchi, Aone and Koganegawa—three of Dateko’s most fearsome fighters—headed straight for him. He couldn’t run, he had a job to finish. So he would just have to beat them down and get back to it. </p><p>Yeah right. </p><p>Koganegawa was the fastest of the trio but he was also the least experienced in hand to hand combat, coming in hot with no guard. Asahi ducked his first wild punch—an attempted knock out—and toppled him over into a crater. It wasn’t deep enough to kill him but far enough down that he would have a tough time getting out quickly. </p><p>“Idiot,” cursed Futakuchi, a man with a face prettier than usually found on front-liners. </p><p>He was fast, sending out a kick that Asahi couldn’t block but he didn’t stop, throwing his own punch, almost connecting with his opponent’s shoulder. If he’d managed to land the punch, he probably would have shattered the bone. Kicks and punches flew between them, but Futakuchi was no fool. He guarded as if his life depended on it because it <em>did. </em></p><p>He may have been morally ambiguous in the eyes of the general populous, but Asahi hated killing people. He hated this war, hated that they were dragged into when it had nothing to do with them. </p><p>Slipping against a bunch of pebbles, Asahi went down, his gauntlets smacking the ground sending up more dust and debris. </p><p>By now, Aone had pulled Koganegawa out of the pit, leaving Futakuchi to deal with Asahi. </p><p>Now that Asahi was down, the massive grey-haired man grappled on top of him, pinning his arms to the ground. His expression never changed, brows furrowed tightly, mouth set in a grim line as he pinned Asahi. </p><p>“That’s quite enough,” came an unexpectedly soft voice along with the press of a gun to Asahi’s forehead. “Please, don’t make me pull the trigger.” </p><p>Asahi blinked up into the upside-down face of Moniwa, leader of the Dateko Iron Fortress. He stared down at Asahi but his eyes held no anger. If anything, they looked sad. </p><p>*~~*</p><p>The clang of metal against metal was loud in the cavernous cell Asahi was tossed into. Cage was more like it. He was alone, darkness all around him on the other side of the bars save for a faint glow of light which illuminated the pathway leading to his imprisonment. </p><p>He sighed, running hands down his face. Of course, his gauntlets had been confiscated and were no doubt being examined. His fingers twitched, eyes darting to his boots and the innocuous emblem of his crew. One push of that and, at the very least, their tech secrets would be kept safe another day. </p><p>It also meant he would undoubtedly injure the personnel examining them. </p><p>The sound of footsteps drew his attention forward, his brow furrowing at the sight of Moniwa coming towards his cell. “So, Azumane-san, we meet again. Though I have to say, I’m surprised it is under these circumstances.” He looked impeccable in his crisp white jacket with teal trim, nothing like a man who ran a fortress in the middle of a dirt ridden planet. He crossed his arms, huffing a small laugh. “You missed the front door by a few hundred miles. That’s why it took us so long to hear you knocking.” </p><p>When he smiled, Asahi couldn’t help but smile back, chagrined. One of the most dangerous things about Moniwa was his ability to disarm his opponents with his words rather than his fists. It was one of the things Asahi had admired about him for years, among other attributes. “Not the best plan but hey,” he shrugged, “you miss every shot you don’t take right?” </p><p>Moniwa’s shoulders shook as he chuckled, his smile widening. “So witty, Azumane-san.” He glanced down to the boots on his captive’s feet. “And still so glass hearted.” </p><p>Asahi flushed, dismayed that their secrets had been found out so quickly. Just who did they have working in that lab? Instinctively, his hand reached for the trigger but Moniwa’s held up palm stalled him. “Don’t bother. We’ve already disrupted the signal. If you were going to make that move, Azumane-san, it would have been best to do it right away.” </p><p>Slowly, Asahi hung his head, his shoulders slumped as he took a deep breath. Not only had he failed in his mission, he’d let their tech fall into the enemy's hands. </p><p>Just what kind of ace was he? </p><p>“Don’t feel too bad,” Moniwa said and he sounded sincere rather than mocking. “For what it’s worth, I find your sense of compassion admirable.” </p><p>“Compassion doesn’t win wars,” Asahi grumbled, standing up and pacing the cell. </p><p>“Maybe not… but it does help when rebuilding after them.” </p><p>Asahi looked at him, eyes wide, confusion clear on his face but Moniwa simply stood, brushing imaginary dust from his jacket. “I’ll have food and water brought to you soon. And perhaps a washbasin and cloth so you can clean up that handsome face of yours.” </p><p>Then he spun on his heel, the click of his shoes echoing as he marched down the platform path to another door and out, leaving Asahi alone once more, his face remarkably warm given the chill of the pit he was in.  </p><p>*~~*</p><p>The moment the door was shut, Moniwa collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily. </p><p>“Ok, I’m <em> this </em> close to checking if you're an android with bad programming,” Futakuchi said from his position leaning against the wall, one foot cocked up as he picked at the dirt under his nails.</p><p>“What?” Moniwa asked, still trying to catch his breath as he stood upright.</p><p>Futakuchi pointed at the door. “Whoever walked in there was not the Moniwa I know, because <em>damn</em>, that was some mighty hubris you were putting out there. I mean it, real BDE.”</p><p>“I don’t know where that came from,” Moniwa answered honestly, dabbing the sweat from his brow. </p><p>“Have you eaten?” Futakuchi flicked a meal bar into his face. “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” Then his eyes narrowed, a predatory grin spreading over his lips. “But maybe you’re not hungry for <em> food </em>.” </p><p>Batting the bar out of his face, Moniwa strode away with swift steps, saying to Nametsu as he passed her, “Please see to it that Azumane-san gets some food and water and cleaning supplies. I’ll be in the lab.” She nodded and continued on her way. </p><p>He hurried along, leaving Futakuchi behind and hoping he wouldn’t follow. He could order him not to, but he’d rather not deal with renewed teasing from his second in command. A glance over his shoulder had him relaxing when he found the mischievous co-captain was making a nuisance of himself to Kamaski. Thankfully, Aone was there to break up any real problems. </p><p>Entering the lab, he made his way to where Sasaya stood with his eyes pressed to the viewer of a microscope. “Have you found anything else out?” </p><p>Sasaya stood upright, rubbing his chin. His brow drew into a deeper frown than normal. “If I’ve worked this out correctly, these things enhance and magnify a user’s strength. So, put them on, they somehow calibrate so the user isn’t negatively impacted by the… well, impacts they’re making.” </p><p>Moniwa’s eyebrows rose. “It cancels the 3rd law of motion?” </p><p>“I wouldn’t go so far as to say cancels, but it definitely accounts and adjusts for it.” </p><p>“So where do you think those scrappy crows swiped it from?” Futakuchi asked, appearing behind Moniwa. </p><p>“They could have made it. Not all of them are dumb brutes, you know,” Sasaya replied. </p><p>“They’re <em>pirates</em>. Of course, they stole it.”</p><p>“They aren’t pirates! They’re… more like mercenaries,” Moniwa insisted hotly.</p><p>“Explain to me how that’s any better,” Futakuchi said, rolling his eyes. </p><p>“For one, they’re hired! They have a code! They don’t kill just to kill and they don’t plunder,” Moniwa said, sounding exasperated.</p><p>“How do you know?” Futakuchi countered quickly. “Because tall, timid but surprisingly destructive told you?” </p><p>“No! Because I make it my business to know about the groups floating around in this mayhem!”</p><p>Moniwa’s voice carried through the room, pulling down a silence as his words died away. He very rarely raised his voice or his fists but he had done one and was ready to do the other. Which was a bad sign. He’d barely been in Azumane-san’s presence for five minutes and already he was creating havoc in his life. </p><p>He took a deep breath, looking at Sasaya again. “Keep working on it. I want to know every bit we can about this tech. If we can harness it, our wall will be that much stronger.” He turned around, brushing past Futakuchi without looking back. </p><p>Entering his quarters, he shut the door and latched it, pulling off his coat to hang on the hook. He disarmed, hanging his holster on a rung of its own. Not bothering to change, he flopped onto his bed, eyes trained on the ceiling, hands behind his head. He inhaled and exhaled slowly.</p><p>What was his next move? </p><p>Azumane-san’s crew would undoubtedly seek to rescue him, along with the others that he’d most likely come to spring from their stronghold. He frowned. It was amazing he’d made it this far without being detected. And why had they used such crude measures? Surely they hadn’t sent him in <em>alone</em>. That would be the height of foolishness. </p><p>Aone had reported no evidence of a ship, so how the hell had Azumane-san even arrived on the planet?</p><p>Arm covering his eyes, he groaned, frustrated that each day brought about more questions than answers. He could ask, try to interrogate the man but he knew how well that would work out, which was not at all. </p><p>His mouthing off had come from nowhere and he wasn’t sure if he could face him so soon after making such a fool of himself. He was here to lead, to find a resolution that, hopefully, involved as little bloodshed as possible. </p><p>Well, less than had already been spilled. </p><p>“There are no easy answers in war, Kaname,” he grumbled to himself. </p><p>Still, despite his knowledge that going back to Azumane-san would only bring him more grief—from Futakuchi if nowhere else—he felt drawn to him, just as he had all those years ago when they’d met on a very different field of battle. </p><p>He missed those days of simplicity at the academy where the worst injuries were bruised ribs and egos. </p><p>Sighing, he rose. Food, he needed food. Dinner would be served soon and Futakuchi, annoying as he could be, was right. He needed to eat, to remain focused. He got up, replacing his gun and jacket on his person and headed to the mess hall. Still, even as he sat among his comrades, allowing them an hour to joke and goof around and forget the misery the worlds around them had become, his mind continually wandered to fiery brown eyes and long hair speckled with dirt. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Annnnnnd yet another AU concept that I made bigger than I can chew right now, but I just love this idea and hope that "one day", I can flesh it out better. For now, please accept this half-formed concept.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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